Introduced Version
House Bill 4712 History
OTHER VERSIONS -
Committee Substitute
|
| Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4712
(By Delegates Amores and Mahan)
[Introduced February 22, 2006; referred to the committee on the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-9a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the crime of stalking; modifying
definitions and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-2-9a
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§61-2-9a. Stalking; harassment; penalties; definitions.
(a) Any person who willfully and repeatedly follows and or harasses
a another person, without a legitimate purpose, with whom he or she
has or in the past has had or with whom he or she seeks to
establish a personal or social relationship, whether or not the
intention is reciprocated, a member of that person's immediate
family, his or her current social companion, his or her
professional counselor or attorney, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months or fined not
more than one thousand dollars, or both fined and confined.
(b) Any person who willfully and repeatedly follows and or harasses
another person, without a legitimate purpose, and while doing so
makes a credible threat against a person with whom he or she has or
in the past has had or with whom he or she seeks to establish a
personal or social relationship, whether or not the intention is
reciprocated, or against a member of that person's immediate
family, his or her current social companion, his or her
professional counselor or attorney such other person with the
intent to place or placing him or her in reasonable apprehension
that he or she or a member of his or her immediate family will
suffer death, sexual assault, kidnaping, bodily injury or battery
for his or her safety, or the safety of another person is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
incarcerated confined in the county or regional jail for not more
less than six months nor more than one year or fined not more than
one three thousand dollars, or both fined and confined.
(c) Any person who has been convicted of a second or subsequent
violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this
section is guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned in a state
correctional facility for not less than one nor more than five
years and fined not more than five thousand dollars.
(c) Any person who repeatedly harasses or repeatedly makes credible threats against a person with whom he or she has, or in
the past has had or with whom he or she seeks to establish a
personal or social relationship, whether or not the intention is
reciprocated, or against a member of that person's immediate
family, his or her current social companion, his or her
professional counselor or attorney, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county
or regional jail for not more than six months or fined not more
than one thousand dollars, or both.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary,
any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b)
or (c) of this section in violation of an order entered by a
circuit court, magistrate court or family law master court, in
effect and entered pursuant to part 48-5-501, et seq., part 48-5-
601, et seq. or 48-27-403, or part 48-27-501 of this code or in
violation of a foreign protection order §48-28-2(2) or in
violation of an order issued pursuant to subsection (i) of this
section, or while armed with a deadly weapon as defined in
section two, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, or in
violation of a condition of bail, probation or parole which has
the express intent of protecting personal safety or a particular
person or persons is guilty of a misdemeanor felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county jail for
not less than ninety days nor more than one year a state correctional facility for not less than two nor more than ten
years or fined or fined not less than two thousand dollars nor
more than five ten thousand dollars, or both.
(e) A second or subsequent conviction for a violation of this
section occurring within five years of a prior conviction is a
felony punishable by incarceration in a state correctional
facility for not less than one year nor more than five years or
nor more than ten years and fined not less than three thousand
dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary,
any person against whom a protective order is in effect pursuant
to the provisions of 48-27-403 of this code who has been served
with a copy of said order or 48-27-501 of this code who is
convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a felony and punishable by incarceration in a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than
five years or fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more
than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(g) (f)For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Harasses" means willful conduct directed at a specific
person or persons which would cause a reasonable person mental
injury or emotional distress;
(2) "Credible threat" means a threat of bodily injury made with
the apparent ability to carry out the threat and with the result that a reasonable person would believe that the threat could be
carried out;
(3) "Repeatedly means two or more acts occurring over a period of
time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose;
(3) (4)"Bodily injury" means substantial physical pain, illness
or any impairment of physical condition; and
(5) "Legitimate purpose" means any legally-recognized profession
or governmental service which requires, investigation of,
interaction with, or collection of information or fees from the
person being followed.
(4) "Immediate family" means a spouse, parent, stepparent,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, child, stepchild, sibling, or any
person who regularly resides in the household or within the prior
six months regularly resided in the household.
(h) (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent
lawful assembly and petition for the redress of grievances,
including, but not limited to: Any labor dispute; demonstration
at the seat of federal, state, county or municipal government;
activities protected by the West Virginia Constitution or the
United States Constitution or any statute of this state or the
United States.
(i) (h) Any person convicted under the provisions of this section
who is granted probation or for whom execution or imposition of a
sentence or incarceration is suspended is to have as a condition of probation or suspension of sentence that he or she participate
in counseling or medical treatment as directed by the court.
(j) (i) Upon conviction, the court may issue an order restraining
the defendant from any contact with the victim for a period not
to exceed ten years. The length of any restraining order shall be
based upon the seriousness of the violation before the court, the
probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim or
his or her immediate family. The duration of the restraining
order may be longer than five years only in cases when a longer
duration is necessary to protect the safety of the victim or his
or her immediate family.
(k) (j) It is a condition of bond for any person accused of the
offense described in this section that the person is to have no
contact, direct or indirect, verbal or physical, with the alleged
victim.
(l) (k) Nothing in this section may be construed to preclude a
sentencing court from exercising its power to impose home
confinement with electronic monitoring as an alternative
sentence.
(l) The governor's committee on crime, delinquency and
correction shall convene a meeting or meetings of the advisory
committee created in §48-27-1102 and shall develop and promulgate
rules on the response to stalking for state, county, and
municipal law-enforcement officers, law-enforcement agencies and communications and emergency operations centers which dispatch
law-enforcement officers: Provided, That such rules and
procedures must be consistent with the priority criteria
prescribed by generally applicable department procedures. The
rules and revisions thereof as provided in this section shall be
promulgated as legislative rules in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to widen the definition of
stalking by including behaviors previously outside the scope of
the statute. This widened definition includes behavior which
occurs frequently and causes serious problems for victims yet
leave them unprotected. Furthermore, the penalties are enhanced
to reflect the serious effects stalking has on those being
stalked.